From Within, It Devours
by program-reaper
Summary: A family shattered. A life lost. Chance returns to his home of Silent Hill, but the guilt & pain that he left with has been eating away at him for years, & now it threatens to completely devour him. M for Violence, Language, and some Sexual Content.


**AN: With all the exciting Silent Hill news floating around at the moment, (Silent Hill: Revelation 3D and Silent Hill: Downpour, for those of you who aren't keeping up) I was struck with inspiration to finally pick up the Silent Hill story I haven't touched in months... Just to make sure it's seen: this is rated M for Violence, Language, and Sexual Content, you have been warned.**

Rain fell in sheets, obscuring much of my view outside of the window. I pressed my forehead against the cool glass and let out a deep sigh. I had been on this bus, with its screaming children for nearly two hours now, but in just a few more minutes, I'd be home. I closed my eyes and sighed again. It had been two years since I left Silent Hill, and almost a year since I had last visited. It would be nice to see my family again...I hoped.

I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep until the bus hit a bump in the road and my head smacked against the window. I hissed and jerked back, pressing a hand to my throbbing skull. With a shock, I realized it was pitch-black outside. It shouldn't have been that dark. We were supposed to have arrived in Silent Hill before dark. I hadn't missed the stop had I?

The bus hit another bump, and I suddenly regretted sitting in the back. Pain jarred my spine as I hit the seat. I didn't remember the road being so rough during my last trip, or on the way up here today. So I must have been on a completely different road. "Shit," I hissed. I would have to talk to the driver, see where the next stop was and how long it would take to get back to Silent Hill.

Carefully and so very ungracefully, I stood and began walking towards the front of the bus. My eyes couldn't seem to adjust to the darkness, and I moved slowly to avoid tripping over someone's things. "Excuse me," I called, as politely as I could. The driver didn't seem to hear me. "Sir," I said. Still no response. Maybe he was just hard of hearing...

I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. He didn't even react. "Are you okay?" I asked, suddenly worried something was wrong. I shook him gently, and he finally turned to look at me. A light flickered within the bus, and I struggled to keep lunch in my stomach. I sucked in a breath and took a step back, my mind racing. The driver's lips were sewn shut, and his eyes were gone, blood running from the empty sockets like tears.

Another light flickered within the bus, and I actually _saw_ the bus for the first time since I fell asleep. Every piece of metal inside was covered in rust. The leather seats were slashed, and most covered in blood. The few that had been occupied before now held only mauled corpses. I couldn't hold it anymore. I puked, my body left trembling afterward. I looked back toward the front of the bus as the headlight began to flicker, sending strange patterns along the road, if it could even be called that anymore.

The bus rocketed along a metal grate that seemed to stretch on forever. The 'bumps' we had been hitting weren't potholes, they were actual holes in the metal. My heart skipped a few beats, and the air in my lungs suddenly disappeared. _What the hell happened?_

My eyes were suddenly drawn to the mirror, and in it, I saw my own reflection, as well as that of a family. An older man, in his late thirties maybe, stood behind a woman, also in her mid to late-thirties. In front of both of them stood a little girl, fair-haired and pale-skinned, like her mother. "Why?" the mother mouthed. Beside them, apart from the family, and obviously not one of them, stood another girl. Dark hair framed her pale face. In her expression, a thousand emotions were easily seen, the most evident: hurt and malice.

I turned to face them, but they were gone. What greeted me instead was a monster I had seen so many times in nightmares. A pyramid-shaped helmet completely covered his face. Heavy, rasping breaths reverberated within the metal, making the monster sound pained and robotic almost. Pale, scarred arms held a massive blade. He was an executioner, one from long ago in Silent Hill's history. I suddenly felt like a child again, terrified, crying, alone.

With a grunt, his hand darted out and thick, callused fingers wrapped around my throat. As if I weigh less than nothing, he lifted me into the air, slamming my head against the roof of the bus. We hit another hole in the 'road', and he squeezed tighter. I tried to scream, but I couldn't. There was no air left. He tossed me to the front of the bus. A spider web of cracks exploded behind me, covering the windshield. I looked up as the rusted, blood-stained blade of my executioner came swinging down. The last thing I saw before pain exploded through my body was that little girl, smiling as if please by my death, but with a sadness behind her eyes that told me she wished there were another way.

I gasped as I jerked awake. The rain still poured outside, and the sun tried desperately to illuminate the world through the clouds. Everything was as it had been, no blood, no rust, no metal road. I sighed, and laughed at myself. It had all seemed so real...I expected to still see the executioner standing in front of me. My mind pushed back just a little, to the family standing behind me in the mirror.

_No. Anything but that..._

I forced my mind elsewhere, like my stomach, filled with a strange mixture of hunger and repulsion. I had only eaten once today, and that meal consisted of a half a sandwich, the other half of which was given to my dog before I left. I looked out the window again, and my eyes fell on a large, faded green sign covered in faded golden letters. I didn't need to see through the rain to know what it said. _Welcome to Silent Hill._

**AN: Short chapter, I know, but the next few will be much longer...I'm hoping. I just wanted to get the beginning out there, maybe garner some interest. I'd really rather not ruin anything, but I feel I should probably warn some readers... This story will later feature Male/Male content. It may not be very graphic, I haven't decided yet, but it will be major to the plot in later chapters. So, if that bothers your, then you should probably stop reading now... Those of you that don't mind, however, thanks for reading, and please review!**


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